(Corrects day in paragraph 8 to Wednesday not Friday, corrects trade to EV, not auto)
SHANGHAI (Reuters) -China’s trade ministry is planning to ban the resale of automobiles inside six months of their preliminary registration as a part of efforts to fight gross sales of so-called zero-mileage used automobiles, an trade affiliation publication reported on Saturday.
Zero-mileage used automobiles have emerged in China because of the uniquely cutthroat competitors for gross sales on the earth’s largest auto market, which is reeling from a brutal, years-long value warfare attributable to continual overcapacity.
The follow entails insuring a brand new car earlier than it’s offered, permitting automakers and their sellers to satisfy gross sales targets.
However it could create hassles for patrons.
Auto Evaluation, a publication run by the China Affiliation of Vehicle Producers, reported the plan in an editorial printed on its WeChat account. It mentioned that the China Vehicle Sellers Affiliation, one other trade group, had individually proposed a code system for exports of used automobiles.
The editorial added that Chery and BYD had been amongst corporations planning to carry sellers accountable for violations, together with licensing automobiles earlier than they’re offered.
The measures, if enforced, would mark the primary coverage motion taken by the Chinese language authorities to cease the follow, which turned a nationwide difficulty after Nice Wall Motor CEO Wei Jianjun known as it out in Might.
Since then, there have been a number of indicators China’s central authorities was making ready a crackdown, from a Communist Get together newspaper condemning zero-mileage used automobiles final month to the nation’s cupboard pledging on Wednesday that it might management “irrational” competitors within the home electrical car trade.
(Reporting by Beijing and Shanghai Newsroom; Enhancing by Aidan Lewis and Joe Bavier)
